Today I'm giving you guys a break from desserts and posting about this savory Viet dish instead. I've made this dish multiple times but I kept postponing posting about it because it has so many different components. In addition, like most Viet dishes that I make, I don't measure exact amounts of ingredients that go into it. Instead, I kinda just season, taste, season again. So what's written here is only a rough guide.
Here's a little about this dish. Pork is the most commonly used meat in Vietnam and this dish is a celebration of pork. I have always wondered how this dish was created, and why there is so much pork in it. But I still don't have the answers to those questions. I also suspect that in the past, broken rice is the the inferior grains that come off the mills due to their sizes and people back then used these since they couldn't afford the higher quality one. Yet, to the accustomed Viet palate, if you make all the toppings for this dish and then serve them with regular long grain rice, it just doesn't taste right. I swear it's not just a psychological thing! There must be something about how this combination works. In case you are wondering how this type of rice looks, here's a picture.
It can be found at any Viet grocery stores. Okay, let's tackle the components one at a time.
For the pork chops.
INGREDIENTS:
4 fairly thin cut pork chops (about 1/3 inch in thickness), tenderized
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp honey
1 Tsp fish sauce
2 Tsp cooking wine
METHOD:
For the pork chops.
INGREDIENTS:
4 fairly thin cut pork chops (about 1/3 inch in thickness), tenderized
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp honey
1 Tsp fish sauce
2 Tsp cooking wine
METHOD:
Mix everything except the pork chops together. I normally do a little taste test at this point. Let the pork marinate in this mixture for at least 2 hours but overnight is best, turning a few times. It's easiest to marinade the chops in a large zipbloc bag as "turning the meat" really means flipping the bag over if you arrange the chops in single layer.
Cook the meat over a grill (or an indoor griddle if you are like me).
For the pork skin
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 package cooked frozen pork skin
1 Tsp uncooked rice
3-4oz lean pork
METHOD:
Soak the pork skin in warm (but not hot) water, drained well.
Cook the pork simmering water flavored with some sugar and fish sauce (or salt if you don't want your kitchen to smell like fish sauce afterward). Slice the pork into strips the size of the pork skins.
Toast the rice until it's brown then ground to fine powder. This is roughly what you should get.
Alternatively, you could buy ground toasted rice powder at Viet grocery store.
Mix the pork skin, pork strips, and toasted rice powder together, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once made, this can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
For the pork custard
INGREDIENTS:
1 large egg, white and yolk separated
6oz pork shoulder, trimmed most but not all the fat, ground*
~1 Tsp wood ear mushrooms, rehydrated, sliced into strips**
A bunch (I know it's highly accurate but I really just eyeball the amount) vermicelli, soaked in warm water, cut into 1.5in sticks.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pearl onion (or some other kind of onions), finely chopped
*You could just buy ground pork from the grocery store but I find it to contain a lot more fat than I'd like so I normally grind my own.
**Asian grocery stores sell dried wood ear mushrooms that have been pre-sliced so they only need to be rehydrated in hot water.
Mix everything except the egg yolk together. Season with freshly ground black pepper and fish sauce. To see if the mixture has been well-seasoned, quickly pan-fry some and taste. It's okay to slightly under season it as the whole dish is served with dipping sauce. Divide them into ramekins (or some other vessels) and steam for about 18-20min. I don't have a steamer so I cooked them the way I would flan or other types of custard, i.e. placed in a larger baking dish that is filled with hot water up to about half the height of the ramekins, covered with foil and baked in the oven at 350ºF.) Stir the egg yolk with a fork and then divide it evenly among the ramekins, steam/bake for another 2 minutes till the yolk is set. To create a nicer color, bleed about 1/2 tsp annatto seeds in 1tsp hot oil. Remove the seeds, cool the oil and then mix it into the egg yolk before brushing the top of the pork custard. Voila.
For the rest of the dish
INGREDIENTS:
Pickled carrots and daikon radish, recipe here
Lettuce (red leaf or boston)
Cucumer, sliced
Uncooked dipping sauce, recipe here
2 cups broken rice, cooked
METHOD:
Arrange the different components on a plate, served with the dipping sauce.
Phew!!! That was a long post, no wonder I kept postponing writing this one. And, as always, bon appetit!
Cook the meat over a grill (or an indoor griddle if you are like me).
For the pork skin
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 package cooked frozen pork skin
1 Tsp uncooked rice
3-4oz lean pork
METHOD:
Soak the pork skin in warm (but not hot) water, drained well.
Cook the pork simmering water flavored with some sugar and fish sauce (or salt if you don't want your kitchen to smell like fish sauce afterward). Slice the pork into strips the size of the pork skins.
Toast the rice until it's brown then ground to fine powder. This is roughly what you should get.
Alternatively, you could buy ground toasted rice powder at Viet grocery store.
Mix the pork skin, pork strips, and toasted rice powder together, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once made, this can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
For the pork custard
INGREDIENTS:
1 large egg, white and yolk separated
6oz pork shoulder, trimmed most but not all the fat, ground*
~1 Tsp wood ear mushrooms, rehydrated, sliced into strips**
A bunch (I know it's highly accurate but I really just eyeball the amount) vermicelli, soaked in warm water, cut into 1.5in sticks.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pearl onion (or some other kind of onions), finely chopped
*You could just buy ground pork from the grocery store but I find it to contain a lot more fat than I'd like so I normally grind my own.
**Asian grocery stores sell dried wood ear mushrooms that have been pre-sliced so they only need to be rehydrated in hot water.
Mix everything except the egg yolk together. Season with freshly ground black pepper and fish sauce. To see if the mixture has been well-seasoned, quickly pan-fry some and taste. It's okay to slightly under season it as the whole dish is served with dipping sauce. Divide them into ramekins (or some other vessels) and steam for about 18-20min. I don't have a steamer so I cooked them the way I would flan or other types of custard, i.e. placed in a larger baking dish that is filled with hot water up to about half the height of the ramekins, covered with foil and baked in the oven at 350ºF.) Stir the egg yolk with a fork and then divide it evenly among the ramekins, steam/bake for another 2 minutes till the yolk is set. To create a nicer color, bleed about 1/2 tsp annatto seeds in 1tsp hot oil. Remove the seeds, cool the oil and then mix it into the egg yolk before brushing the top of the pork custard. Voila.
For the rest of the dish
INGREDIENTS:
Pickled carrots and daikon radish, recipe here
Lettuce (red leaf or boston)
Cucumer, sliced
Uncooked dipping sauce, recipe here
2 cups broken rice, cooked
METHOD:
Arrange the different components on a plate, served with the dipping sauce.
Phew!!! That was a long post, no wonder I kept postponing writing this one. And, as always, bon appetit!
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